Cannabis in Washington (state)

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Cannabis in Washington relates to a number of legislative, legal, and cultural events surrounding the use of cannabis (marijuana, hashish, THC, kief, etc.). In 2012, Washington became the first U.S. state to legalize recreational use of marijuana. The state had previously legalized medical marijuana in 1998. Under state law, cannabis is legal for medical purposes and for any purpose by adults over 21.

Video Cannabis in Washington (state)

Legal history

Prohibition

Washington was among many states to criminalize cannabis in the 1920s. The Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 3 in 1923, which defined "cannabis americana" and "cannabis indica" as narcotic drugs. Possession was punishable by one to 10 years in prison. Nevertheless, enforcement of the law was rare, as cannabis use was not common in the state. In western states such as Washington, cannabis prohibition was largely motivated by the drug's association with the growing number of Mexican American immigrants. As racial and anti-immigrant tensions rose, newspapers published sensationalized stories of the drug causing Mexicans to go insane and commit violent crimes.

After cannabis use became more common during the 1960s, the state began to relax its marijuana laws. In 1971, the state legislature reduced the crime of possession of 40 grams or less to a misdemeanor, and no longer considered the drug to be an "opiate" or "narcotic." However, marijuana remained a Schedule I drug under both the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and Washington's own Controlled Substance Act of 1971, which deem the drug to have a "high potential for abuse" and "no currently accepted medical use."

Medical marijuana

Despite its Schedule I status, in 1979, the Washington Court of Appeals recognized there was a medical necessity defense for cannabis possession. In the case of State v. Diana, a Spokane man with multiple sclerosis appealed his conviction of possession of a controlled substance on the grounds that the drug was necessary to treat his medical condition. The court held that the medical defense exists, but only in very specific circumstances.

Medical marijuana patients, however, had no legal way of obtaining the drug. In the 1990s, cannabis buyers clubs and cooperatives began providing the drug to patients in several cities across the US. These dispensaries operated in defiance of state and federal law, but were rarely targeted by law enforcement.

In 1995, the Green Cross Patient Co-op of Bainbridge Island became the first buyers club in the country to be raided by law enforcement. The cooperative, run by Joanna McKee and Ronald L. (Stich) Miller, provided cannabis at little or no cost to over 70 patients with diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and multiple sclerosis. Both McKee and Miller were arrested, and around 130 cannabis plants were seized. The case was later dismissed when a Kitsap County judge ruled that the search warrant used to execute the raid was invalid. McKee and Miller moved the co-op to Seattle and resumed operations.

In reaction to the raid against the Green Cross Patient Co-op, an attorney from Tacoma named Ralph Seeley sued the state of Washington, seeking to have cannabis re-scheduled as a Schedule II drug. This would have allowed doctors to write prescriptions for medical marijuana. Seeley, who had been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer in 1986, used cannabis obtained from the co-op to treat the side effects of his chemotherapy. A Pierce County Superior Court judge ruled in Seeley's favor, but the decision was overturned by the Washington Supreme Court by an 8-1 margin.

Following the ruling, two separate ballot initiatives were filed to decriminalize medical marijuana in the state. Both were sponsored by physician Rob Killian. Initiative 685, which appeared on the 1997 general ballot, would have allowed doctors to prescribe any Schedule I drug, if scientific research supported medical use. It would have also paroled drug prisoners. The initiative failed, with 60.4% of voters rejecting it. The following year, Initiative 692 was filed, which was limited only to decriminalizing medical marijuana. The initiative was endorsed by The Seattle Times, marking one of the first times a major newspaper in the U.S. backed a medical marijuana initiative. I-692 was approved by a margin of 59.0% to 41.0%.

The passage of I-692 allowed physicians to recommend medical marijuana to patients with terminal or debilitating illnesses including: "chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting in cancer patients; AIDS wasting syndrome; severe muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and other spasticity disorders; epilepsy; acute or chronic glaucoma; and some forms of intractable pain." The initiative also allowed the state to add new illnesses to the list as necessary. Qualifying patients with a note from their doctor were permitted to possess a sixty-day supply of cannabis, which was later defined to be "twenty-four ounces of usable marijuana and no more than fifteen plants."

Although the law did not explicitly allow dispensaries, many were established and often went ignored by law enforcement. By 2011, there were around 75 storefront dispensaries open in Seattle and 55 in Spokane. That same year, the state legislature passed an overhaul of medical marijuana laws, which would have created a system of state-licensed growers, processors and dispensaries. Governor Christine Gregoire, however, vetoed most of the new legislation, explaining that she would "not subject [...] state employees to federal prosecution."

In April 2011, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington Michael C. Ormsby ordered all dispensaries operating in Spokane to cease operations. Most complied, but several owners who refused to close their stores were arrested. Later that year, federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries also occurred in western Washington. 15 dispensaries were targeted in cities including Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Puyallup, Lacey and Rochester.

Legalization

In spite of federal prohibition, public support in the state for marijuana reform continued to grow. In 2003, Seattle passed an initiative making adult marijuana possession the lowest priority of law enforcement agencies in the city. Tacoma passed a similar initiative in 2011. A 2010 poll by the University of Washington found that 52% of Washington voters supported removing criminal and civil penalties for marijuana possession.

In early 2010, the Washington House of Representatives considered two bills regarding cannabis. One would have allowed cannabis sales in state liquor stores, and the other would have decriminalized possession of forty grams or less. Both bills died in committee. Cannabis activists responded by filing Initiative 1068, which would have removed all state-level criminal and civil penalties for cannabis use or possession by adults over the age of 18. Despite an endorsement by the Washington State Democratic Party, the campaign received little fundraising and failed to gather enough signatures to secure a spot on the ballot.

The following year, a separate group of activists filed Initiative 502, which would have legalized the use of cannabis for adults over the age of 21. The bill also allowed the Washington State Liquor Control Board to regulate and tax cannabis production and sales, and set new limits on blood THC levels for driving under the influence. In December 2011, the initiative received enough signatures to be sent to the state legislature. In April 2012, when the legislature adjourned without acting, the initiative advanced to the 2012 general ballot.

Early supporters of the measure included Seattle's The Stranger and Spokane's The Spokesman-Review. I-502 was also endorsed by the Washington State Democratic Party, the mayor and entire city council of Seattle, and the sheriff of King County. National support came from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the NAACP, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The initiative faced little organized opposition. The most vocal opponents were medical marijuana advocates, who claimed the new DUI provisions were too strict and that recreational dispensaries would hurt the medical marijuana industry. Police groups such as the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs also opposed the initiative, but did little fundraising or campaigning against it.

On November 6, 2012, I-502 was approved by a vote of 55.7% to 44.3% Possession of up to 1 ounce (28 g) of marijuana by adults became legal under state law on December 6, however cultivation, sale and even gifting remained illegal. Laws regarding medical marijuana remained unchanged. After I-502 went into effect, the Washington State Liquor Control board began establishing regulations for the new recreational cannabis industry, with a deadline of December 1, 2013 set by the initiative.

In August 2013, the United States Department of Justice announced that it would not interfere with state-level legalization, as long as distribution and sales were strictly regulated by the state. On November 18, 2013, the state began accepting applications for marijuana businesses including growers, processors and retail outlets. The Liquor Control Board initially planned to allow 334 retail stores and 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m²) of growing space statewide. The first recreational cannabis stores in Washington opened to the public on July 8, 2014.